My father looked toward me. “What are you talking about, Ari? What does this have to do with your mother?”
I pointed a finger at Philip Middleton. “He’s responsible!”
I realized something else. Kit had our abilities and his mother had died. “You conducted the same research on your own wife. On your firstborn child. What kind of sick bastard does that?”
“It was the closest I could get to my work. The drugs were safe. We’d tested them thoroughly. We had a license to begin testing on human subjects.”
“But not for the thing you were actually testing for. You told people it was a treatment for morning sickness, but it was something else entirely.”
“We had harnessed something with huge potential. We needed human subjects, and that was never going to happen if we were completely honest about what we needed them for. The drugs were already proven to be harmless.”
I balled my fists with anger. “Except they weren’t, were they? It took a few years, but the women whose babies were affected—or perhaps I should say altered—by the drugs, all died, didn’t they?”
“I didn’t know that was going to happen,” he said with a frown. “I do deeply regret that. I didn’t want to be left with two motherless boys.”
“You selfish bastard. Don’t you think you should have thought about that before you gave her the drugs?”
“I told you, I believed they were safe. We had no way of knowing the effects wouldn’t show until several years later, and even then, the affected women were a tiny percentage. Don’t you think that sacrifice is worth it, considering what we created?”
“What you created?”
“Yes. Humans with special abilities.”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I never asked for this. I’d swap what I can do in a second if it meant my mother and sister being alive again.” I gestured toward my dad. “And now you’ve taken my father as well. You think that is a reasonable sacrifice? Taking my entire family from me?”
Behind him, the storm clouds had begun to move, gathering, tumbling, building. Racing toward us at a rapid rate. A roll of thunder crashed across the sky, and jagged forks of lightning cut down through the dark.
“Are you responsible for the bombing on the pier?” I yelled at him, wanting to know, but also hoping to buy myself more time. “It killed my sister!”
Philip Middleton’s gray eyebrows pulled down, his lips thinning. “That wasn’t us, I give you my word. It revealed you to us, but we didn’t do it.”
I didn’t know why, but I thought I believed him.
A sudden wind whipped up, tugging at their suit jackets, raking through their hair. It pushed at my back, and I was forced to take a couple of staggered steps forward before grinding my heels into the ground to anchor myself. The men, too, fought against it, leaning into the sudden wind to avoid being pushed back.
“Is this you?” Philip Middleton demanded, shouting above the sound of the wind. “If it is, stop it right now, or your father is going to be missing a piece of his skull. I know what you people are capable of.”
“It’s not me,” I cried in panic. “There’s a storm coming, look behind you.”
He glanced over his shoulder at the growing black clouds, but shook his head. “It’s too far away, and the wind is coming from the wrong direction.” He turned to one of his men. “There’s someone else here.”
I knew Hunter was trying to help, perhaps hoping to use the wind to distract them or even force them off the side of the cliff, but it was too perilous. My father was right there with them. Whatever Hunter tried to conjure up, there was no way my dad would go unscathed.
“No, stop!” I cried, hoping Hunter would hear me. The wind tore my words from my lips, carrying them away, so I wasn’t even sure he’d heard me.
He must have heard me. The wind died away as quickly as it had arrived. Movement came from behind me, and I glanced back to see another black-suited man shoving Hunter forward. I could only assume from their position, and that Hunter hadn’t fought back at all, that the man had a gun pressed into the small of Hunter’s back. I didn’t think they’d shoot us, however. We were Middleton’s little pet projects. He’d try to take us alive before he killed us.
Hunter caught my eye and gave me a little shrug, as though to say, ‘I tried.’
I turned back to Philip Middleton. “Okay, I’ll tell you where Kit is. Just let them both go.”
“Ari, no!” Hunter yelled.
I ignored him. “I can’t tell you where it is. It’s impossible to describe. You’ll never find it unless I take you there myself.”
“It’s in San Francisco, though?” the older man said.
“Yes, it’s not far from here. But I can’t show you while we’re all on this island. Let Hunter take my father home, and I’ll take you to where your son is hiding.”
He barked laughter. “Do you really think I’m going to let these two go? As soon as they’re safe, you’ll refuse to show me.”
“Why would I? Kit’s been lying to us all this time. He never told us the Myriad Group were responsible for the drugs that did this to us and killed our mothers. He’s acted like our leader, when he’s been lying to us the whole time.”
A massive crash of thunder made everyone duck. The clouds were close now, almost upon us. If we didn’t get off the island before the storm hit, we’d be trapped here.
“Let my dad and Hunter go, and I’ll take you to him.”
“You can’t go with him, Ari,” my father called to me. “The man is insane.”
“It’s okay, Dad. I know what I’m doing.”
But Middleton only laughed. “You have no idea what you’re doing. You think you know things? What you know isn’t even the tip of the iceberg.”
My anger grew. Beneath my feet, the ground began to tremble. Above us, another roll of thunder cracked across the sky. Waves crashed against the cliff face below.
“Ari,” Hunter called out to me. “Ari, you’ve got to stop it.”
I spun around to him. “I’m not doing anything!”
“Yes, you are.”
It was happening again. My inability to control my powers. Only now it was happening on a massive scale. The sky flickered like a strobe light then lit up in a blinding white flash. Lightning jagged down toward us, as though it was trying to hit the man who’d started this whole thing. Was I doing that? Was I directing it?
I remembered what both Kit and Hunter had taught me—that I needed to center the energy inside me and focus it, but I couldn’t. Just thinking of Kit filled me with fury at his lies. My rage was all of me, seeping from every pore and nerve ending.
The tremors in the ground grew worse, shaking us from side to side. The men murmured, growing anxious, stepping their feet farther apart to keep their balance.
“Move away from the edge,” Middleton yelled to his men, as though only just becoming aware of their treacherous position.
I let out a yell of rage, every muscle in my body gripped with unreleased anger and grief at everything that had happened to me—the loss of my mother and sister, the blackmail and lies. The tremors increased, and one of the men in black let out a scream as the ground beneath his feet gave way. His hands scrabbled wildly in midair for a fraction of a second, the gun falling from his grip, before he vanished from sight.
The area of ground that had fallen down the cliff side was too close to my father. I remembered my warning to Hunter about not wanting my father hurt, and yet I was in danger of doing that myself. I needed to regain control, but I couldn’t. It was too much. It was stronger than I was, and I couldn’t rein it in.
Another streak of lightning sparked across the sky, blinding us in its white light. A massive boom sounded seconds later, concrete and stone fracturing, and the roof of the building where Hunter and I had been sheltering exploded in a huge ball of sparks and fire.
“Ari, move!” Hunter’s cry.
I turned to see more than a dozen cracks running down through the
brick and concrete. I was too close. Like I was watching in slow motion, the whole of the side of the building began to give way, concrete dust running in rivulets down the wall.
My dad, taking the moment of distraction, let out a roar and swiped a fist at the man holding the gun to his head. A gunshot sounded, and I cried out, terrified he was hurt or worse. The two men tumbled together, and Philip Middleton yelled a command I couldn’t quite make out.
Another huge crack echoed in my ears, and I turned to see the side of the building start to fall. I couldn’t outrun it. The building was several stories high. Instinctively, I crouched, my arm raised to protect myself, though I knew it would be of no use. I squeezed my eyes shut, waiting to be crushed by a block of concrete.
The crush never happened.
With my heart pounding, fear thick in my mouth, I dared open my eyes.
Suspended above me were numerous chunks of concrete and brick, a strange patchwork of the side of the building floating midair. Was I doing this, too? I glanced over at Hunter. He stood, utterly focused on the pieces of the building. This wasn’t me holding the slabs of concrete in midair. No, I was only about destruction. This was all Hunter’s doing.
“Ari,” he said, calmly, “move out from under there. Slowly.”
The slab directly above me was the size of a car. If Hunter let it fall, it would kill me.
With my heart in my throat and my whole body trembling, I crawled. The pieces of the building shivered in midair, as though fighting against Hunter’s control of their motion.
Beyond Hunter, I saw movement.
Philip Middleton and his men were slipping away.
“Hunter, they’re getting away. Stop them!”
He shook his head, his focus never leaving the pieces of the building he was holding. “I can’t, Ari. If I do anything, it’s all going to fall.”
I remembered something. “You said I might not be able to get hurt. Just let it fall. Stop him.”
Hunter continued to stare at the floating objects. “I’m not going to take that risk.”
I wanted to run, but I was frightened any rash movement would make Hunter lose control, and so I remained on my hands and knees, cowering down, as I crept out from under them. I made it out from under the final piece, and fell onto my back, panting hard.
The chunks of brick and concrete hit the ground with a massive crash, sending dust and dirt flying up from beneath them. In what remained of the building, a fire raged in the timbers of the roof. Sparks flew into the night sky, the sound of the fire building to a roar.
My father’s voice. “Ari!”
I remembered the others—Philip Hamilton and the men in black.
When I turned to look, they’d already gone.
Chapter Twenty-two
Above our heads, the storm clouds broke apart as quickly as they’d gathered, the thunder and lightning no more. The ground beneath our feet was once more stable, and I knew it was because the fury that had held me in its grip had subsided.
Philip Hamilton and his remaining men took advantage of the distraction I had created and, obviously realizing their guns were no defense against earthquakes and lightning, sneaked away.
Dammit. It had been my fault. If I’d been able to control myself, we could have turned the tables and held Hamilton accountable for his actions, but instead he was free.
But so were we. And my dad was safe.
I got to my feet and staggered up to my father. I fell into his arms, squeezing him tight.
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry, Dad.”
His eyes were wide, his face pale. Beneath my arms, I could feel him shaking.
My father released me and stared down at me, his expression a mixture of anger, confusion and fear. “What the hell is going on, Arianna? You’re supposed to be away with work.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I had no choice.”
“What happened there? It was like those pieces of the building were floating. Why didn’t they hit you?”
“Hunter did that, Dad. He saved me.”
I almost added from myself, but managed to close my lips around my words.
My father shook his head, bewilderment filling his features. “But how? How is such a thing even possible?”
“I don’t have time to explain it all now, but I will. I promise.”
I turned to Hunter and hugged him, too.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he said into my hair.
“Me, too. They got away, though. It was my fault.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re safe, and your dad is safe. That’s what counts.”
Tears caused by every overwhelming emotion—relief, fear, anger at myself—filled my eyes. “I couldn’t control it, Hunter. I could have gotten everyone killed.”
He kissed my head and smoothed my hair with his palm. “But you didn’t, and we’ll figure it out, Ari. It will be okay.”
My dad stepped forward and put out his hand to Hunter. “I don’t know what you and my daughter are into, and frankly I’m not sure I believe my own eyes right now, but thank you for keeping her safe.”
Hunter shook his hand. “Thank you, Mr. Sheppard.”
“Call me Bryce, please. After what I just saw, I think we can be on a first name basis.”
Hunter nodded.
From somewhere far below us came the growl of an engine. We all turned toward the sound.
“Look, there,” I said, pointing past the cliffs, to the ocean beyond.
A small speedboat bobbed across the waves. Three figures sat inside—Middleton and his two remaining men. They were getting away.
Familiar anger boiled up inside me. “I’m going to flip the damn boat.”
Hunter touched my arm. “No, let him go.”
I turned to him, my eyes wide. “Why?”
“That’s Kit’s father. You want to be the one responsible for killing Kit’s father?”
He had a point.
“Besides, he has knowledge we want. He’ll know where we came from. What was in those drugs given to our mothers to make us this way? He might be the only one with answers, and if we kill him now, we might never find out.”
“He’ll try again. He still doesn’t know where his son is. He’s not just going to let things rest.”
“Good. Because neither will we.”
The boat vanished into the darkness.
And we let them go.
Chapter Twenty-three
We made our way down through the island together, to where we’d left the small rowboat. Before we reached the jetty, I remembered something and turned to Hunter.
“We still need to untie that poor park ranger. We can’t leave him like that.”
Hunter nodded in agreement. “Okay, and then we’re getting the hell off this island. We need to go and have a serious conversation with Kit.”
We went back to the spot where we’d found the ranger, my dad following. The man was in exactly the same position, lying tied up on the ground. He started yelling the moment he saw us, though it came out as a muffled grunt against the tape over his mouth.
Hunter crouched beside him and undid the ropes around his feet and hands. He helped the man to sitting, and then yanked the tape back off his mouth.
“I’m calling the cops,” the ranger declared, rubbing at his wrists and ankles. “You can’t do this to people and expect to get away with it.”
“Listen, asshole,” said Hunter. “We weren’t the ones to do this to you. We just set you free. Call the police all you like, tell them who hit you and tied you up, but if you mention anything about us being here, we’ll come back and kill you, got it?”
The ranger looked away and mumbled something that sounded like got it.
I hoped that was what he’d said. I didn’t much like the idea of trying to explain all of this to the police.
We left him where he was—we weren’t going to offer to help any more than we already had; we had enough to deal with—and hurried
back down to the jetty.
Hunter pulled me to one side. “What are we going to do with your father?” he said, his voice low. “We need to go and find out what Kit knows.”
“We have to take him with us,” I said, looking up to Hunter, my eyes wide. “I can’t abandon him now.”
“It’s breaking the rules, Ari. Remember, we don’t tell anyone about the Cavern.”
“I don’t get a damn about the rules. How would you feel if this was someone you loved? Would you just leave them?”
“The only person I care about already knows everything.”
I jolted at his words. Did he mean me? This wasn’t the right time to start analyzing our relationship.
“If he can’t come,” I said resolutely, “I’m not coming either.”
He reached down and caught my hand in his. “We need you, Ari. We can’t leave you out here, unprotected.”
His words caused my hackles to rise and I pulled out of his grip. “I’m not unprotected. I have my abilities. You said it yourself that I’m stronger than anyone else. I can protect myself.”
“No, you can’t. Not yet anyway. You almost just got yourself killed.”
My father called over to us. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Dad,” I said, shooting Hunter a look. “Everything is fine. We’re taking you somewhere safe.”
Hunter gave a sigh of exasperation, but didn’t argue with me any further. Miraculously, the little rowboat was still tied up and in one piece. We jumped down to it, the boat wobbling beneath us, before seating ourselves.
Hunter rowed as before, using his ability, but I could tell he was exhausted, the power he was putting into the movements nothing like before. The waves were still up from the storm I had caused, and it felt like forever before we finally hit the shingle cove beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.
“What are we doing here, Ari?” my dad asked.
“Please, Dad. It’s important you don’t ask too many questions now, okay? I’m breaking the rules just by bringing you here.”
Now the immediate threat appeared to have passed, he went back into dad mode. “I heard everything that was said back there, Ari. About your mother being given drugs, and them killing her. Don’t tell me this isn’t my business, because as well as you losing your mother, I lost my wife. As for all the other stuff … Well, I saw what I saw. Maybe this was supposed to be a secret, but it’s gone beyond that now. I already know, even though you haven’t told me anything.”
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